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Could Zinc Whiskers Be Impacting Your Electronic Systems? Raise Your AwarenessDuring the past several decades electrical short circuits induced by "Zinc Whiskers" have been cited as the root cause of failure for various electronic systems (e.g., apnea monitors, telecom switches). These tiny filaments of zinc that may grow from some zinc-coated items (especially those coated by electroplating processes) have the potential to induce electrical shorts in exposed circuitry. Through this article, the authors describe a particular failure scenario attributed to zinc whiskers that has affected many facilities (including some NASA facilities) that utilized zinc-coated raised "access" floor tiles and support structures. Zinc whiskers that may be growing beneath your raised floor have the potential to wreak havoc on electronic systems operating above the floor.
Document ID
20040034740
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Sampson, Michael (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Brusse, Jay (QSS Group, Inc. Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
September 25, 2003
Subject Category
Solid-State Physics
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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